Moment of Silence
by VivaMac
Summary: *OUAT Story* When Remi Jones washes up on the mysterious shores of Neverland, she is thrusted into an adventure to become a different person and pretend she is something she is not. A boy. * ORIGINALLY TITLED MUTE *
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One - Neverland

"Are you dead, or are you just gonna lay there?" There was a light tap on my side. I can hear a slight crashing of waves, a calming sound that lulls me into a numb mind state. "Get up," the voice says again. "I see you breathing." Maybe...maybe if I just laid here for a little longer, this person would go away. "There's a wave coming."

Cold water splashed over my head, dragging me back on the sand an inch at the most. Salt water enters my lungs, burning my windpipe and I can feel a flame erupting at the back of my nose, stinging my nose. My eyes snap open as the water recedes, shifting rapidly trying to find the person who was talking to me not moments before.

I hear a slight giggle to my left, and I open my mouth to say something, but it's covered before a sound comes out of my mouth. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?" It's apparent that the voice belongs to a girl, the pitch is too high to be a male. She uncovers my mouth slowly, and grabs me by the collar of my white shirt.

I can't see anything except a burry mess of what seems to be a beach. "Stay quiet until we get to the cove." she continues dragging me along until she pauses. "Shit," the woman curses. "We messed up. Try to step where I have, lightly though. Try not to make very big indents. We're trying to seem like there's only one person walking here."

I clumsily try to follow steps that I can't really see from the salt water. I follow the smudge-like feet, trying to walk on the foot steps.

By the time my eyes start to work properly once more, we're in front of a huge boulder. This is the cove? It stood taller than two of me stacked on top of the other. It was built into a mountain, in a forest that was ten minutes from the beach.

"I'm going to need your help with this." She said leaning against the boulder. "We need to push it to the side."

I scuffle over, my stance rather awkward from the leather vest and leather pants I wore constricting me, shrinking from the water. "Go!" I wasn't much help, the girl is much stronger, her feet were kept planted, whilst mine slid against the forest floor.

There was a screech as rock clashed with rock, and there was enough room for us to wiggle in one at a time. I rub my eyes, trying to get them to adjust to the darkness, the only light available disappearing as the woman closed the door.

There's a bit on clanking and soft footsteps as she walks around the cave. There's a scratch, and the sound of a flame being started on a match. A tiny flicker of light starts and grows as she lights lanterns around the room.

It's a rather small cave, scratches on the walls, marking in tallies. There's a tiny table near the far wall, four logs forming a circle (perhaps a place to sit) outside of a fire pit, and a tiny pool of water in the corner, possibly leading from a stream or the ocean. There wasn't much to this place, but it becomes apparent that this cave was once occupied.

Finally, I look at the woman who brought me here. Her green clothes were ragged and torn, her hair was up, but it was knotted and greasy. "I'm Tink," she says. Tink? What kind of name is that?

"Remi," I respond as I move over to the logs. Tink put a finger over her mouth, signaling for me to be quiet.

"If you're ever going to survive this island, you're going to need to stay silent." Tink said harshly. She sighs, and tosses me a ratty blanket that smelled of mothballs."Get some sleep, you're gonna need it." My nose scrunched up in disgust, but I was too tired to do anything about the smell.

˙·٠•●❀●•٠·˙

"Let's go," Tink yells in my ear. I sit up slowly, rubbing my eyes as Tink throws clothes at me. "Get dressed, I'm going to teach you how to defend yourself today. If you can learn quickly, you'll be of use to Pan, so he won't get rid of you...immediately." Tink exits the cave so I have privacy as I change. The clothes were close to the ones I had been wearing overnight. There was a white shirt, not quite as puffy as the one I had on. She had set out a leather corset, with pants made of the same material that clung to my legs. Tink put leather boots that came up mid-shin next to my head, and a rather long cloak with a large hood on the log.

After getting changed, I head out of the cave and help Tink close the door entirely. She steps back, and I lean my head on the wall. I hear a slight whoosh of wind speeding past my ear as a knife lodges itself in a rock, nearly nicking it.

What the hell? I jump in the air and turn. I nearly shout at her, but I remember that I need to stay silent.

"C'mon, let's go! You have to learn sometime, and the boys aren't going to give you this chance to recover. You're going to need to be here," she raises her hand above her head. "in physical fitness or you'll be here." She points to the ground. I understand what she means, she says that I'm going to be six feet under unless I take this time to prepare wisely.

She drops a sword on the ground. Tink waits for me to pick it up, which I do. It registers in my mind, and quickly the familiar weight switched between my hands as I toss the blade back and forth. "Don't get cocky, here."

Tink starts moving slowly, agile and light on her feet. She paces back and forth, drawing another sword from a sheath on her waist.

She lunges at me, dirt spitting up into the air, and moves her sword up an inch.

It takes only moments for me to register what to do next. My feet move to the left, my body ducking down as Tink swings the sword over my head. She stumbles as she attempts to catch her footing.

Tink swings again, and my arms lift up the sword, and they clash, sparks flying. Tink moves back before she lunges forward again.

In truth, I surprised myself in this short battle. It's been four years since I last trained for a fight, since one of my father's old girlfriends decided I needed to be more of a girl, less of a pirate. My body works on it's own, I don't even need to think of what to do next, _I know._

The fight lasts only ten minutes before i grab my opponent's sword, one pressed against the nape of her next, and the other facing her throat. Tink looks at me, her eyes narrowed. "How did you...?" she trails off.

Tink leads me back inside of the cave, closing the opening as we pass through. She quickly grabs a torch and sits me down as she relights the dying fire.

"Who taught you to fight like that?" She asks, placing the torch in its holder on the wall. I have no idea what she wants from me, first she doesn't want me to talk, but now she's asking me questions?

I walk over to Tink, and using my finger, I wrote out two words:

_My father_.


	2. Chapter 2

"Your father?" Tink whispers, brows furrowing as she inhales a deep breath. "And who might he be?" she pondered aloud. Tink looked up at me as her bangs fell in front of her blue eyes. Truthfully, there was nothing to say about the man - he was an old coward who abandoned his kids without warning, so I drew two words in the sand;

A bastard.

Tink stood up, exhaling air as she did. She was stressed, that was obviously not the answer she had wanted. My eyes followed her as she paced around the cave, chewing her nails to the nub. I wanted so badly to talk, but I was ordered against it by the person who I so badly wanted to talk to. My dirty blonde locks fell in front of my eyes, and an obviously pissed Tink noticed almost immediately. She bellowed out an order to sit down, and grabbed a knife from a rock. I obeyed, quickly sitting down as Tink stalked over to me. She took the hood off, and grabbed a huge chunk and pulled.

Pain erupted at the back of my skull, a strange sound coming from the back of my ear and out of the corner of my eye I saw blonde chunks fall to the floor. Holy shit, I thought, she's cutting my hair. Tink continued to chop my knotted hair until it was only mere centimeters long. Tears sprung to my eyes when I realized that my long hair that reached to my waist was gone.

"Nothing personal, but you look too much like a girl with that hair." She said as she dropped the knife on the ground. "Pan's looking for you, which means he'll find you."

Tink shook her hands to release built up energy, feeling her heart pumping as she realized that Pan would know that she was keeping Remi from him - although the cave had a magic seal to prevent him from tracking her while she was inside.

"We'll need to get moving, and fast. It's a days journey to get at least within a few miles from camp, there's a couple things you'll need to learn about the boy who never grew up," and we continued onward to the north, a large trek ahead of us.

"Peter Pan was once a young man, he was aging - sweet, but the thought of growing up worried him. He wanted to be free, he wanted to fly.

"Peter Pan wanted to fly far away from his reality, one where he was neglected and abused. As he grew older, he found himself becoming more and more like his wretched father. He grew anxious, and just the day before his eighteenth birthday - which would mark him as an adult and as his heart grew darker, made him more like his father - he bought a magic bean from a black magic marketer. Taking the translucent bean, he stomped on it and wished for a place where he'd never grow up. A swirling blue and green portal opened up at his feet, and the rest is history."

Tink stopped walking for a moment, furrowing her blonde eyebrows and thinking. "Although I suppose it was too late." She lead me through a thick forest and pushed back twigs that ultimately clawed at my face. "You'll understand when you meet him, he's not a good seed."

I wanted her to continue - I really did, something about this Peter Pan boy intrigued me. As we walked, I felt the urge to speak again, not using my voice once more felt strange.

After about an hour on endless walking, she stopped me in front of a large meadow with as a tiny white rabbit munched on the grass. It's tail wiggled as it's long ears perked up, moving in quick movements. The bunny's head shot up, chewing on a stray piece of grass that hung from it's mouth every few seconds.

A knife glinted in the air and flew toward the rabbit, landing between its eyes as it emitted a small squeak, much to my horror.

I felt my heart pumping as Tink walked toward the lifeless bunny. She picked it up by the handle of her knife, surveying it for a moment before walking over and placing it into my bag. Refusing the urge to hurl onto Tink's shoes, she covered her nose with her hand and followed Tink as she gathered sticks.

As I walked behind her, I noticed two thin slits on the back of her outfit, extending three inches from the back of her shoulder blades. I thought of asking her what happened, but she threw down the sticks in a large pile and started a fire.

"Hand me the rabbit, would you?" she asked much to my dismay. Using her fingers, Tink dug two small holes next to the fire before placing two sticks that split into a 'V' shape at the top in the holes.

I felt bile rising up my esophagus as I picked up the bunny by it's neck, head flopping in the wind. Blood trickled down its soft fur that resembled snow. I couldn't help but feel sad as I handed the poor thing to the blonde girl in front of me, who skinned it and stuck a stick inside it as she placed it onto the fire, securing the stick to the others that stood in the holes, turning the rabbit slowly as it cooked.

I watched her movements carefully as she pulled out a large makeshift pot that was made of wood. They were shaped oddly, forming into a slight cone towards the bottom.

"Wait here," she said as she stood. "I'm getting some water from the stream. Turn the rabbit for me, please."

I waited for her to get back as I stared at the flickering flames, turning the rabbit as it turned brown.

Tink came back not too long after she left, the large bowl was filled with clear water and she sat to the left of me. Tink took control of the rabbit, and handed me the pot.

"I found some carrots and a few parsley - maybe basil - leaves growing by the stream. And," she handed me a green leaf. "I found some mint leaves - go on, have a chew." I looked at the leaf like it was an alien before I stuffed it into my mouth. The lovely taste of fresh mint overwhelmed my taste buds. "What I want you to do is take those rocks," she pointed to the ones closest to the fire. "and brush the dirt off and put them in the water. It'll heat it up rather quickly." I complied, brushing off about five rocks before the pot of water got to a decent temperature.

Tink handed me a knife and the orange carrots, I counted five in total, and instructed me to cut up the carrots and place them in the bowl as she chopped up the leaves. Taking out the rocks, I did as I was told by I cut up the carrots into thin sections and placed them in the pot. They fell in with a hollow clunk! sound. Tink handed me the leaves and I placed them in there before she cut up the rabbit and handed me the body portion of the rabbit. We waited a few minutes and let it sit by the fire, warming it up more when she took out two bowls and a large spoon. They were oddly shaped - so obviously crafted by hand but they would have to do. Tink scooped up the stew and placed it into my bowl, doing the same for herself.

Sipping at the broth, Tink exclaimed, "Tonight, we eat like Kings!"


	3. Chapter 3

As much as I'd like to say I didn't miss my father, I'd know deep down that would be a lie. I missed his accent and the smell of his leather jacket - like rum and sea salt.

I remember rather vaguely a time where he gave me my first sip of rum, the warm liquid burned the back of my throat and made my stomach squeeze as my mind melted. I was thirteen and sat by the steering wheel on the Jolly Roger - it was my first ever trip with my father overseas, and he'd made it a tradition to give his children a sip of his rum on their first trip.

It was also the year he met Catherine, who was actually his longest relationship he had before he left us. She was a gold digger who attempted to marry me off to a rich family within the two months of her dating my father.

Although she wasn't, Catherine acted like a right prostitute, sleeping with random men she'd find at the bar. I knew this, and I'd like to think my father did too, but he was too blinded by his love to confront her about it.

Catherine left my father after she found a richer suitor, an elderly man with many riches to his name. We never heard from her again, until a notice of her immediate wedding went out. The town buzzed with the news of the engagement, and my father left Alexander - my eldest brother, two years my senior - in charge of Caleb and I whilst he drowned his sorrows in rum and bar whores.

He stayed out for days.

Days turned into weeks.

And weeks turned into a few months.

Food ran out shortly after he left and I was forced to spend my days in forests hunting for squirrels and the sort.

I hated it with a burning passion, which I later overcame (although I still have trouble with killing and skinning innocent animals).

My father returned as suddenly as he left, not even acknowledging the fact that his children had run out of water and were slowly starving as the animals moved south and started to hibernate for winter.

Our reunion was short lived and my father left a few weeks after he arrived, chasing after a broad who already had a family at home.

I never met her, and I never saw my father again.

For two long years, Caleb waited for his father to come home. He became distant and he stayed in his room for long amounts of time. It broke my heart to see him like that - he used to be so happy.

And he took that from him.

Alexander had just turned eighteen when he had gotten a telegram.

It was possibly one of the worst things that could happen to our small family.

Alexander was going to fight in the war. We both knew he wouldn't be coming back in one piece.

And he didn't.

Two months later, yet another telegram came to our doorstep. Alexander Jasper Jones was declared "killed in action."

I couldn't bear to tell Caleb. I made lame excuses to why letters weren't getting delivered anymore, but we both knew what happened to our Alexander.

XXX

Tink woke me up about an hour after we ate, the sky a vibrant purple as the sun began to set.

She threw a black bandana at my face, and told me to cover my nose and mouth with it. After I obeyed, she said, "You need to go, Pan is looking for you. I won't be able to get you any farther - we need to split up much sooner than I expected." Shooting me an apologetic look, Tink packed up her things and turned to leave. "I'm sorry. Goodbye, Remi." And with that, she just...left.

**STATUS: UNEDITED**


	4. Chapter 4

I watched the fire burn out as I sat on the hard ground, playing with strings of grass that grew. My mind was empty and my face showed no emotion as I relaxed.

Laying down, I looked up past the trees. Stars sprinkled the dark sky and twinkled in the night. But this sky was strange, it showed constellations I didn't recognize. The stars seemed to have been placed at random, seemingly artificial.

I could remember days where I would sit on the rocking boat of the Jolly Roger just staring at the stars, memorizing patterns that stood out. I remember the faint smell of salt and I remember the breeze that made me shiver.

But that was years ago, I hadn't been on the ship since the accident.

Tink said that I needed to move on because this boy was looking for me, right? I knew I should've left a while ago, I should've left when Tink did.

But why hadn't I? All I had was a feeling that Mr. Peter Pan would find me on his own eventually. But it was only a feeling, I had nothing to go on otherwise.

I brought myself to my feet before walking further into the dense forest, and it wasn't long before a knife was held to my throat. It was almost too easy to get out of this.

I had a hand holding onto the right arm of the person who held the knife. Stomping on their foot hard, they emitted a girlish shriek and loosened their grip, from there I twisted the arm and grabbed the knife. I pushed them to the ground. I pinned their legs down by pressing my knees on the back of their's, I held their wrists above their head and dug the blade between my attacker's shoulder blades.

The person - a young boy not much older than her with shaggy red hair - spat out dirt. I scrunched up my nose as spit swirled with the ground. Gross, I thought.

"Uncle! Uncle!" the boy exclaimed as he groaned in pain. Almost reluctantly, I stood up and threw the knife onto the ground a few inches from his face. He rolled over to his back painfully, groaning as he did so. "What's your problem, man?"

I rolled my eyes, the boy attacked me and he has the audacity to say that? I leant out my right hand, which he gladly took, and pulled him up quickly.

"Whoa," he said. "You're not Terrence." he said. His face turned tomato red in a matter of seconds as he sheepishly looked to his bare feet. "Sorry 'bout that, mate."

He picked up the dull knife from the ground and motioned for me to follow him. "C'mon, we haven't all day." The boy began to sprint off into the distance, callused feet pushing off of roots and trees, leaving me startled in his dust. I quickly followed him, happy I actually had boots to wear.

I used to run like this with my brothers as we explored. We made a rather interesting game of it - the only downside was that someone would get hurt. My older brother, Toby, had broken his wrist when he tripped over a root he didn't see.

It didn't take long for me to catch up to the speeding boy. He ran his fastest, which was rather slow compared to myself. I passed him, leaving him bewildered and I felt my hood begin to tilt back in the wind.

The redheaded boy pushed his hardest to match my pace, which had slowed down since I had no clue where to go. I let him pass and followed as he made a sharp left turn which reached a circular clearing with a dozen boys of all ages dancing to music around a fire.

A boy, who appeared to be the ringleader of the bunch, played a pipe. I recognized the song - The Piper's Song. I often heard it late in the night faintly like an appealing whisper in my ear.

Our father, when he was home, warned us to be wary of the boy and his music, it lead in the weakest people to a truly evil boy himself.

The redhead began to sway and howl with the other boys, forgetting of my existence entirely. The music was appealing, and I soon lost control of my movements and danced around the fire.

XXX

The music stopped and I slowly began woke up from my drunk-like state of mind.

The redheaded boy moved closer to me and roughly grabbed my arm, dragging me off to a tall boy dressed in tight green clothing.

"Pan," the boy nodded towards the elder boy with respect in his eyes. Pan looked at me for a moment before looking at the boy.

"Zachary, where did you find him?" Peter asked.

"In the woods - attacked me as soon as he saw me, didn't give me no chance!" I noticed Peter roll his eyes, clearly not entirely convinced.

"What's his name?" I wasn't fond of how they spoke of me as if I wasn't even there - as if I didn't exist.

"His name is - I, well, he hasn't told me that yet." Zachary looked at me as he tilted his head. Pan narrowed his eyes at me, and I realized they were looking for my name.

But Tink advised me to never speak.

I used my two index fingers to form an "X," on my lips.

"You don't talk?" Peter asked as he raised one eyebrow. I shook my head no and looked around the camp. There were a few tents laying on the ground level, training centres and a table where they obviously prepared game for dinner. Large houses hung on the branches and were each attached by a long wooden bridge that was over ten feet above the ground. "Well, that makes things a bit complicated - but who doesn't love a challenge or two?"

I repressed a snigger - it seems like I'm the one with the real challenge here. "Tony!" Peter yelled over his shoulder. A toehead not much older than myself made his way over to us. "Tony it was you whose family was deaf, correct?" Peter asked. Tony nodded quickly, green eyes looking from Peter and I. "I'll need you to teach our friend here a few signs, myself as well. We need some way to communicate."

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Zachary sneak away from the conversation and move to a tent. "Tony, please take our guest to his tent." Peter looked to me and said, "Your treehouse will be ready by tomorrow morning." I felt my eyes widen, that was a short amount of time to build one of those gigantic tree houses.

Peter turned on his heel and disappeared into the woods and my eyes followed his retreating back until I couldn't see him anymore. Tony grabbed my arm roughly and dragged me into what appeared to be a small tent made of animal skins. The inside, however, was the size of a small house. It had a small, plain wooden dresser and a mattress laying on the ground. A small lantern sat beside the bed, and a water basin for drinking sat to the left of the dresser.

"I suppose I should formerly introduce myself," Tony said from behind me. I spun around to meet his amber eyes, noticing how he made wild hand motions and seemingly over exaggerated facial impressions. "I'm Anthony, or Tony to most people. I help the lost boys who are deaf - although they don't stay for very long. I'm going to teach you a couple of common signs to help you out."

He balled up his left hand into a fist, his thumb outside of it. "A," he explained. He went through the alphabet until I had memorized it well enough to communicate with others. Tony showed me some of the most common signs before a loud bell went off. "Curfew," Tony muttered under his breath.

"_Goodnight, lost boy_."


End file.
